Decision Thursday on perjury allegations

ROSS MIRKARIMI CASE

Rachel Gordon

Updated 4:51 pm, Saturday, July 14, 2012

Photo: Lea Suzuki, Associated Press

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Suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi arrives at Room 400 for his official misconduct hearing at City Hall on Friday, June 29, 2012 in San Francisco. Mirkarimi took a plea deal and avoided trial two months after he pleaded not guilty to child endangerment and multiple domestic violence charges. (AP Photo/San Francisco Chronicle, Lea Suzuki) NORTHERN CALIFORNIA MANDATORY CREDIT PHOTOG & CHRONICLE; MAGS OUT; NO SALES less

Suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi arrives at Room 400 for his official misconduct hearing at City Hall on Friday, June 29, 2012 in San Francisco. Mirkarimi took a plea deal and avoided trial two months after he ... more

Photo: Lea Suzuki, Associated Press

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Supervisor's Carmen Chu and David Chiu, join San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, (center) as he prepares to present his proposed budget for Fiscal years 2012-2013 and 2013-2014, in the Board of Supervisors chambers on Thursday May 31, 2012, in San Francisco, Ca. less

Supervisor's Carmen Chu and David Chiu, join San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, (center) as he prepares to present his proposed budget for Fiscal years 2012-2013 and 2013-2014, in the Board of Supervisors chambers on ... more

If the commission grants the request, the ramifications could be significant - legally and politically.

The commission is holding a fact-finding hearing on the official misconduct charges that Lee brought against Mirkarimi. Mirkarimi's attorneys, however, want the commission to subpoena four people they believe may be able to show that the mayor lied under oath twice when he testified before the commission.

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Lee and his attorneys maintain that he told the truth and that the perjury allegations are a distraction from the misconduct charges and a "strategic attempt" by Mirkarimi to make it more difficult for the mayor to remove him from office.

Mirkarimi's attorneys want to ask Supervisor Christina Olague whether Lee consulted with her before filing the charges against Mirkarimi; Lee stated that he did not speak to her or any other supervisor. But Building Inspection Commissioner Debra Walker, a Mirkarimi ally, said Olague told her that she and the mayor had discussed the case beforehand.

"These claims are absurd," Olague said, adding that she had considered Walker a friend - but not anymore - and cast her assertions as "shocking."

Vote could be jeopardized

If Olague is ordered by the commission to testify, that could jeopardize her ability to vote later on whether Mirkarimi should be removed from office. Once the Ethics Commission completes its fact-finding hearing, the case will be presented to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation on whether Mirkarimi should keep his job.

Currently, just three supervisors on the 11-member board need to back Mirkarimi for him to keep his job. If Olague is disqualified, Mirkarimi will need just two supervisors.

Lee suspended Mirkarimi without pay in March after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of false imprisonment in relation to a Dec. 31 fight where he bruised his wife's arm. The mayor then took the unusual step of filing official misconduct charges to remove Mirkarimi from office.

Effect on Mirkarimi's case

Lee's attorney, Deputy City Attorney Peter Keith, said the perjury issue has no bearing on whether Mirkarimi is guilty of official misconduct.

"The mayor testified truthfully, and the sheriff's claim otherwise is not a defense to the charges of the official misconduct against the sheriff," Keith said.

"The credibility of a witness is important when a trier of fact is deciding whether the testimony is believable," said Michael Cardoza, a veteran Bay Area defense attorney who has been tracking the proceedings.

Richard Leo, an attorney who teaches criminal law and procedure at the University of San Francisco School of Law, agreed. "But this case is different than a typical criminal case," when perjury, in the most extreme cases, can lead to a mistrial if it's found that the information irrevocably taints a jury, he said.

The jury in this instance is the Ethics Commission, a five-member panel composed of one appointment each of the mayor, district attorney, city attorney, assessor and the Board of Supervisors.

"This is fundamentally a political case," Leo said. Not only is the Ethics Commission a politically appointed body, he said, but the case involves one citywide officeholder taking on another.

If Mirkarimi is forced from his job, he is expected to file a court appeal.

Cardoza said there appears to be sufficient reason for the Ethics Commission to consider whether the perjury accusations should be admitted.

In addition to Walker, former Supervisor Aaron Peskin has suggested that the mayor may have lied when he told the commission that he never used an intermediary to find Mirkarimi another job if he resigned as sheriff.

Peskin said businessman Walter Wong, a Lee supporter, approached him with the idea and left him "with the impression" that he was acting on behalf of the mayor.

Peskin's account disputed

Lee said he did not direct Wong to reach out to Peskin to relay the job-trade offer to Mirkarimi. Wong, in an interview with the Chinese-language World Journal, also disputed Peskin's account. But Peskin said Wong spoke with him the day before Lee charged Mirkarimi. Peskin, a political adversary of the mayor who also has called on Mirkarimi to resign, said Friday that he is willing to testify under oath before the Ethics Commission.

Shepard Kopp, one of Mirkarimi's lawyers, said the perjury issue goes to the heart of the official misconduct charges.

"If the mayor was willing to lie under oath, it completely undermines his claim that he brought these charges not for political reasons, but as an extension of his civic duty as mayor," he said. "I would have a hard time believing that a credible argument could be made that if the mayor committed perjury it would be immaterial to this inquiry."

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